‹ Compare two snakes
DeKay's Brownsnake vs Red-bellied Snake
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(c) Michael J. Papay, some rights reserved (CC BY)
DeKay's Brownsnake
Storeria dekayi
Non-venomousShannon, no rights reserved
Red-bellied Snake
Storeria occipitomaculata
Non-venomousThe quick way to tell
Look at the belly and back. The Red-bellied Snake has a bright red or orange belly and a mostly plain back. DeKay's Brownsnake has a pale belly and two rows of small dark spots down the back.
Pattern ★ This settles it
Pale stripe down a brown back between two rows of small dark spots.
Plain brown, gray, reddish or blackish back, sometimes with a paler stripe down the middle and faint thin dark stripes. The belly is bright red or orange with no spots (sometimes pink, yellow or black).
Head
Small head, often with a dark mark behind the jaw.
Head is often darker than the body (dark brown to black), with a light collar or three pale spots just behind it and white on the chin and throat.
Eyes
Round pupil, small dark eye; no heat-sensing pit.
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Pits
None. There is no pit between the eye and the nostril.
None. There is no pit between the eye and the nostril.
Tail
Short; no rattle.
Short and thin, colored like the body, with the red belly color continuing underneath.
What it does
Slow and inoffensive; hides under boards and bricks.
Very secretive, hiding under logs, rocks and leaf litter. It very rarely bites; when bothered it curls its upper lip, may release musk, flatten its body or play dead.
Where it lives
Eastern and central US: southern Maine and southern Canada south through Florida, west to Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas and Texas.
Eastern US from the Dakotas, Minnesota and Maine south to northern Florida and eastern Texas, with an isolated group in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming. Also southeastern Canada (Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia).